After descending the mountain, Kanzaki Kumo first found a small town to write a letter to Kuwajima Jigorō, explaining that he was going to Mount Sagiri to learn Water Breathing, and then continued on his way with Makomo.
Along the way, Kanzaki Kumo had been struggling with one thing—giving his Crow a name.
Makomo had named her Crow ‘long night’ because its temperament was “silent like the night,” and its feathers were as pitch-black as the night; it was a very fitting name.
As for Kanzaki Kumo, looking at the Crow resting on his shoulder with its eyes closed, he was at a loss for what to call it.
“How about…
South-South-East?” Recalling a snippet about Kasugai Crow from the original story, Kanzaki Kumo muttered to himself.
He wouldn’t actually give his Crow such a name, of course, but he really couldn’t think of a good one.
“My, my, our great genius Mr.
Kanzaki is actually terrible at naming things~” As they grew closer, Makomo felt comfortable enough to joke around with Kanzaki Kumo.
“As for naming things, the only one I’ve been satisfied with in my life is ‘Kanzaki Kumo,’ which I chose for myself.”
“Hmm?
Kumo-kun’s name was chosen by himself?” Although their relationship had become much closer, Makomo hadn’t proactively asked about Kanzaki Kumo’s past before.
After all, participating in the Demon Slayer Corps’ Final Selection at such a young age suggested a tragic history in her eyes.
“Well~ since I was abandoned by my parents at the age of four, an old man named Kanzaki Keizan took me in.
Out of gratitude, I changed my surname to Kanzaki, just like you changed yours to Urokodaki.
However, I changed my given name as well, because back then I wanted to be as free as the clouds in the sky.”
Kanzaki Kumo’s tone was very relaxed, as if he wasn’t talking about his own past.
“That old man, he’s now…” Makomo looked at Kanzaki Kumo with eyes full of sympathy, asking cautiously.
“Oh, Grandpa passed away shortly before my seventh birthday; he died of old age, I suppose.
Later, I was taken in by a temple.
Then, over a year ago, a demon broke into the temple.
At that time, Mr.
Gyoumei protected me and the other children there.”
“It was also after that that the master of the Demon Slayer Corps came to invite Mr.
Gyoumei to join.
I was just a tag-along.” At the end, Kanzaki Kumo poked fun at himself.
After all, in that situation, he really was just an incidental addition to Gyoumei’s invitation.
Whether out of genuine surprise or to change the subject, Makomo followed up by asking: “In other words, that Mr.
Gyoumei was able to defeat a demon even before joining the Demon Slayer Corps?”
*Hiss—* This time Makomo was truly shocked.
Gyoumei’s feat was too exaggerated, but she soon realized she had been surprised too early.
“Oh, Mr.
Gyoumei is the one who became the Stone Hashira not long ago, Himejima Gyomei,” Kanzaki Kumo added unhurriedly.
Makomo: Alright, there’s something even more exaggerated—becoming a Hashira in one year…
Kanzaki Kumo: Heh, in the future, there will be someone who goes from picking up a sword to becoming a Hashira in just two months.
As a member of the Demon Slayer Corps whose master was the former Water Hashira, Makomo naturally knew the weight of a Hashira-level swordsman.
Someone becoming a Hashira in just one year was, in her eyes, even more exaggerated than suppressing a demon for an entire night.
But soon, Makomo turned her attention to another question.
“You clearly don’t have a deep-seated hatred for demons, so why did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?”
Facing Makomo’s question, Kanzaki Kumo didn’t know how to answer for a moment.
Clearly, she didn’t yet understand the Ubuyashiki Family’s methods for handling information and personnel related to demons.
And so, Kanzaki Kumo gave this somewhat naive girl a lesson on the spot.
“So that’s how it is…” The girl felt as if a door to a new world had opened, but then she thought of another question: “Even so, why did you become a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman so early?
You could have lived in the shelter for a while longer.”
“What difference does it make if it’s sooner or later?
Besides, isn’t it better to learn a Breathing Technique early and gain some ability to protect myself?” Kanzaki Kumo shrugged.
“Caw~”
Kanzaki Kumo’s sudden shrug almost made the Crow resting on his shoulder lose its balance.
“Sorry, I almost forgot about you.
I’ll think of a proper name for you.” Refocusing his attention on the Crow, Kanzaki Kumo began to struggle with the naming problem again.
The Crow glanced at Kanzaki Kumo.
For some reason, it felt like its master was a bit unreliable.
Makomo looked at the struggling Kanzaki Kumo thoughtfully.
If she were to be precise, the fact that she was still alive was thanks to Kanzaki Kumo learning a Breathing Technique so early.
Otherwise, in her state of emotional collapse, she likely would have died at the hands of the Hand Demon.
Shaking her head to dispel these cluttered thoughts, Makomo looked at Kanzaki Kumo’s furrowed brow and stepped forward with a light pace.
“If it’s really that much of a headache, why don’t I help you think of one?”
“That won’t do.
It’s my own Crow, so of course I have to be the one to name it. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
It’s called a’sense of ritual,’ do you understand?”
“Ah, yes, yes, our great genius Kanzaki knows so much; he just doesn’t know how to name things.”
“Just you wait, I’ll definitely come up with a good name!”
“Then I’ll look forward to it~”
In this way, the two of them joked and laughed along the way, making the journey much less boring.
During this time, Kanzaki Kumo’s miserable cries would occasionally ring out.
Those were the sounds he made when, after giving the Crow names like ‘Little Black,’ ‘Black Bean,’ or ‘coal ball,’ he was met with the creature’s protests and subsequently attacked.
Whenever this happened, Makomo would burst into laughter on the side, and even the quiet-natured long night couldn’t help but let out a squawk of amusement.
And whenever long night laughed, the attacks Kanzaki Kumo suffered tended to be even more forceful.
…
Finally, as Mount Sagiri came into view, Kanzaki Kumo clapped his hands together in front of him with a crisp snap.
“I’ve decided!
From now on, I’ll call you Ink Shadow.
How about that?”
Kanzaki Kumo spoke with full confidence, yet his body instinctively moved into a defensive posture against the Crow’s attack.
Only this time, no attack came.
Kanzaki Kumo looked up at the Crow, which had been unwilling to land on him after being given so many bizarre names, and asked somewhat uncertainly, “You agree?”
The Crow didn’t answer, but simply landed slowly back onto Kanzaki Kumo’s shoulder.
“Black as ink, swift as a shadow.
Our great genius has finally come up with a decent name,” Makomo teased immediately.
“I’ll just take that as a compliment.” Kanzaki Kumo no longer had any interest in bickering with her over naming.
Seeing this, Makomo only smiled and didn’t continue joking about it; saying any more would cross the line of lighthearted banter.
“Look, we’ve arrived.
Mount Sagiri.”
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”